In November and December 2025, YPOG advised on several major financing rounds in the technology, deeptech and venture capital sectors. The firm supported both investors and innovative startups across a range of industries – from sports entertainment and AI-powered robotics to deeptech and semiconductor development, as well as defence tech and digital commerce. Mandated companies and investors included, among others, The Icon League, 10x Founders, the EIC Fund, Project A Ventures and ZeroPhase.
YPOG advises The Icon League on EUR 15 million Series A financing
Berlin, November 6, 2025 – YPOG has advised The Icon League, an innovative fiveaside football league, during its successful EUR 15 million Series A funding round. The round was led by HV Capital, with additional participation from investors including Jürgen Klopp’s family office, Luigi Berlusconi’s venture capital arm, and entrepreneur Thomas Hagedorn.
The Icon League is a digital indoor football league that builds reach through platforms such as Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube, already boasting more than 1.3 million followers. Founded by Toni Kroos and Elias Nerlich, among others, the league combines athletic competition with entertainment and digital storytelling, making it one of the most popular leagues in the Germanspeaking region. The funds will be used to further professionalize operations and expand across Europe.
YPOG had previously advised The Icon League in June 2025 as part of a financing round.
Team
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Berlin
Jörg Schrade (Tax), Partner, Munich
Dr. Benedikt Flöter (IP/IT/Data Protection), Partner, Berlin
Dr. Oliver Junk (Transactions), Associated Partner, Köln
Benjamin von Mangoldt (Funds), Associate, Berlin
Ninetta Kleindienst (Tax), Associate, Munich
Charlotte Petrasch (IP/IT/Data Protection), Associate, Berlin
Farina Weber (Transactions), Associate, Berlin
Theresia Heinrich (Transactions), Senior Associate, Hamburg
YPOG advises 10x Founders on EUR 20 million funding round of Mimic Robotics
Hamburg, November 10, 2025 – YPOG has advised venture capital investor 10x Founders on a successful funding round of European robotics and technology startup Mimic Robotics. The round was led by Elaia and Speedinvest, with participation from 10x Founders and additional investors.
The start-up develops AI-powered robotic hands that set new standards for precision and flexibility in industrial manufacturing. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence and sensor-based control, these robotic hands can perform complex movements and adapt to diverse production requirements.
The funds raised will be used to scale production, integrate the technology with pilot customers across various industries, and expand research activities. The objective is to make the technology the leading platform for AI-driven robotics in Europe and to establish new standards in collaboration with OEMs and research partners.
Team
Dr. Adrian Haase (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Hamburg
Miriam Peer (Transactions), Associate, Hamburg
Benjamin von Mangoldt (Transactions), Associate, Berlin
YPOG advises EIC Fund on EUR 1.5 million financing round of Xelera
Cologne, December 1, 2025 – YPOG has provided comprehensive legal advice to the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, an initiative of the European Commission, in connection with the seed financing round of German deep tech startup Xelera Technologies. The EUR 1.5 million round was led by Hi Inov and aims to support the company’s further growth and international scale-up.
Xelera develops software solutions to accelerate data-intensive applications in cloud, edge and data-center environments. With the new financing, Xelera plans to further expand its technology platform, unlock additional industrial and research-related application areas, and strengthen its market presence in Europe and North America.
YPOG has been advising the EIC Fund on investments in German startups on a regular basis for several years, particularly in the deep tech and technology sectors. Most recently, YPOG advised the EIC Fund on the EUR 1.8 million financing of Headmade Materials.
Team
Dr. Johannes Janning (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Cologne
Dr. Tim Walter (Transactions), Senior Associate, Cologne
Laura Franke (Transactions), Senior Project Lawyer, Cologne
YPOG advises Project A Ventures on financing round of Spryker
Berlin, December 17, 2025 – YPOG advised Project A Ventures on a financing round of Spryker, led by TCV and One Peak, with participation from Project A. The investment is intended to accelerate product innovation and support profitable growth across Europe and global B2B commerce markets.
The digitalization of B2B commerce continues to gain momentum as manufacturers, distributors and service companies transition from traditional sales models to digital, ecosystem-based approaches. Spryker supports enterprises in building marketplaces, subscription services and vendor portals, delivering measurable operational and cost efficiencies.
Spryker’s platform offers a model-agnostic AI foundation, agentic AI tailored to complex B2B processes, and AI-assisted developer productivity. The company has been repeatedly recognized as a “Visionary” in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce report and as a “global leader” in the Gartner Critical Capabilities for Digital Commerce report 2025.
With the new capital, Spryker aims to further strengthen its market position, accelerate innovation and scale its offering to meet increasing demand for modern B2B commerce platforms, particularly in Europe.
YPOG has advised Project A Ventures on several financing rounds in recent years.
Team
Dr. Benjamin Ullrich (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Berlin
Dr. Oliver Junk (Transactions), Associated Partner, Köln
YPOG advises EIC Fund on seed financing round of Last Mile Semiconductor
Cologne, December 17, 2025 – YPOG has provided comprehensive legal advice to the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, an initiative of the European Commission, on the seed financing round of Last Mile Semiconductor GmbH (LMS). In addition to the EIC Fund, the seven-figure financing round included participation from TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen and Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen mbH (MBG).
Founded in 2022 and based in Dresden, the deeptech startup develops highly integrated, energy-efficient and high-security semiconductor solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. As a “fabless chip company”, LMS focuses on the development and design of highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, while manufacturing is outsourced to specialised semiconductor foundries. The goal is to significantly reduce production costs and enable scalable business models in the IoT market. Among other things, LMS's solutions enable the particularly energy-efficient operation of connected sensors, industrial applications, and smart home devices, in some cases even energy-autonomous, without an external supply.
With the fresh capital, Last Mile Semiconductor plans to accelerate the further development of innovative chip families, expand the software toolchain, and create the conditions for industrial-scale series production. In addition, the company intends to deepen strategic partnerships with pilot customers and industry partners in order to bring its technology to market maturity across various application areas.
YPOG has supported the EIC Fund for many years with regular advice on investments in German startups.
Team
Dr. Johannes Janning (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Cologne
Dr. Tim Walter (Transactions), Senior Associate, Cologne
Laura Franke (Transactions), Senior Project Lawyer, Cologne
YPOG advises ZeroPhase on EUR 5.8 million seed financing for highly resilient communication systems
Hamburg, 18 December 2025 – YPOG has comprehensively advised defence-tech company ZeroPhase on a seed financing round with a total volume of EUR 5.8 million. The round will be used to further develop sovereign, software-defined data links that ensure secure and resilient communication for unmanned defence systems, even in heavily contested electronic environments.
With the fresh capital, ZeroPhase will expand its engineering and signal processing teams, deepen partnerships within the European defence and aerospace ecosystem and extend its adaptive communications platform to additional mission profiles.
ZeroPhase develops sovereign, software-defined data links that enable secure, resilient and scalable connectivity for unmanned defence systems. The company focuses on providing trusted communications – because communication determines the outcome of missions.
Team
Dr. Adrian Haase (Lead, Transactions), Partner, Hamburg
Benjamin Müller (Transactions), Senior Associate, Berlin
